Description

"A wag once labelled water as the stuff they put under bridges." L/S of a barge travelling under one of the London bridges. "To Eve, water brings up bright memories of beaches - and sunny days." M/S of woman in swimsuit and swimming hat posing by the edge of the sea. "But, water to a Chemist is just H2O." C/U of a chemist's bottle with an H2O label stuck on the side. "H2O means that water consists solely of 2 parts of hydrogen and 1 part of oxygen." Joe Noble dressed in a white lab coat measures out some liquid into a glass then pours it into a glass tube. "When the current is turned on, the water "splits up." A switch is pulled and several light bulbs light up. C/U of water bubbling through the glass tubes. Labels reading "Oxygen" and "Hydrogen" are attached to the tubes. Joe measures the differences between the amount of Hydrogen and Oxygen. "Chemistry, however doesn't bother Baby Eve - water to her, on the wholesale side, means a bath." High angle shot of a tiny tot diving into a swimming pool. "There are, however, exceptions to the water-loving rule."

Cartoon by Joe Noble of a tramp carrying a bundle on the end of a stick. He walks along with a dog following him. The tramp approaches a house and knocks on the door. A woman leans out. Tramp says (in a speech bubble) "Kind Lady, we've had nothing to eat or drink for a fortnight." Woman replies "Poor Man, I'll get you a drink." Dog yells "Mammy!" and kneels on the ground like Al Johnson. Tramp drinks from the glass and looks shocked. WATER! (he was presumably hoping for something stronger). He chases the dog away from the house. "When Baby grows up, she'll still love the water." C/U of tiny tot standing on a drape covered chair beside a sting instrument (ukulele or banjo?) She poses for the camera. Dissolve into same shot but this time a grown woman dolly bird sits on the chair dangling her feet. C/U of her face - she smiles. She jumps down and walks off. M/S of group of bathing belles splashing each other whilst paddling in a river. They fool around having fun.

Slow motion footage of two people diving into a swimming pool. "If she can't get to the water, bathing costumes are just as fashionable where the sun shines." Running race - girls in swimsuits. M/S of girls sitting on a hay cart, others use pitchforks to gather up the hay - they all wear swimsuits. Group of girls sitting on the sand in an indoor solarium, they lounge around under sun ray lamps with parasols. They eat ice cream from little bowls, one of them plays with a toy dog. One of the girls feeds her friend with ice cream. The friend winks at her. Exterior shot of the girls doing exercises by the river. They balance on their shoulders with legs in the air doing cycling movements. We then see them in the solarium again having a game of leap frog.

"And if she can't swim - a pound of cork will keep everyone afloat." M/S of a woman wearing a lab coat in studio setting. She holds up to the camera some blocks of cork. C/U of a set of weighing scales. She places the cork on the scales, it weighs a pound. A woman in a swimsuit stands with her back to the camera and the cork is held against her back. "Nature's grandest moods are expressed in water - and one of the world's greatest Falls was named after a Queen - Victoria Falls." Camera tilts down to show the waterfall. "North America too, has its giant Niagara Falls - nicknamed "Honeymoon Falls". Cartoon and live action mixed in a shot of the falls surrounded by a heart shape, cartoon image of an elderly couple sitting on a bench by the falls, a cherub above them. "Dear Heart, what memories it revives" says the man. The wife replies "I think I left the bathroom tap on."

Was an item in Eve's Film Review issue number 540.

Note: see also "Bottled Sunshine" and "Sun and Daughters" which share material. The offcuts of those films were probably plundered for footage used in this film.

10 telling images selected from British Pathé's extensive WWI footage. 'The war to end all wars' was a war without parallel: over 70 million military personnel were involved and over 17 million people died.